Well the time has come for me to finalize my brackets, folks. I've gotten plenty of rest, I've had a very relaxing morning, and I have my trusty Diet Coke and even trustier SI Swimsuit Edition here by my side. I think I am in the right frame of mind to finalize my picks.
So contrary to past years, I haven't really listened to a lot of the pundits on ESPN and the radio. Mainly because listening to these guys in past years has gotten me a whole bunch of jack squat. But I'm not bitter or anything, no. Last year, I finished 8th out of 9 and the year prior to that I finished 3rd out of 5. So I haven't fared too well against my comrades.
Actually, the last time I had any sort of overall success was in 2003 when I picked 3 out of the 4 Final Four teams (Syracuse, Texas, Kansas) and Marquette (with Dwyane Wade) surprised everyone and made the final four. I then picked the final game matchup correctly, having Syracuse go against Kansas. I picked Kansas, who had Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison leading the way back then, but the lost to Carmelo Anthony's Syracuse Orangemen 81-78.
Anyway, fast forward to present day. I haven't based my pick on much of anything this year. Last year, I went WAY overboard with the upsets. And for some reason, last year was definitely not the year of the upset special. I no longer have a set "strategy" to pick by. Strategies are for losers. (meaning me.)
So here we go, I'm gonna break my bracket down, region by region.
EAST REGION:
First round winners:
(1) North Carolina, (9) Arkansas, (5) Notre Dame, (4) Washington State, (11) St. Josephs, (3) Louisville, (7) Butler, and (2) Tennessee
Second round:
(1) North Carolina beats (9) Arkansas
(4) Washington State beats (5) Notre Dame
(3) Louisville beats (11) St. Josephs
(7) Butler beats (2) Tennessee
Regional Semi-final:
(1) North Carolina beats (4) Washington State
(3) Louisville beats (7) Butler
Regional Champ:
(1) North Carolina beats (3) Louisville
MIDWEST REGION:
First Round winners:
(1) Kansas, (8) UNLV, (12) Villanova, (4) Vanderbilt, (6) USC, (14) CSU Fullerton, (7) Gonzaga, (2) Georgetown
Second Round:
(1) Kansas beats (8) UNLV
(4) Vanderbilt beats (12) Villanova
(6) USC beats (14) CSU Fullerton
(2) Georgetown beats (7) Gonzaga
Regional Semi-final:
(1) Kansas beats (4) Vanderbilt
(6) USC beats (2) Georgetown
Regional Champ:
(1) Kansas beats (6) USC
SOUTH REGION:
First Round winners:
(1) Memphis, (8) Miss. State, (12) Temple, (4) Pitt, (11) Kentucky, (3) Stanford, (10) St. Mary's, (2) Texas
Second Round:
(8) Miss. State beats (1) Memphis
(4) Pitt beats (12) Temple
(3) Stanford beats (11) Kentucky
(2) Texas beats (10) St. Mary's
Regional Semi-final:
(4) Pitt beats (8) Miss. State
(3) Stanford beats (2) Texas
Region Champ:
(3) Stanford beats (4) Pitt
WEST REGION:
First Round winners:
(1) UCLA, (8) BYU, (5) Drake, (13) San Diego, (11) Baylor, (3) Xavier, (10) Arizona, (2) Duke
Second Round:
(1) UCLA beats (8) BYU
(5) Drake beats (13) San Diego
(3) Xavier beats (11) Baylor
(10) Arizona beats (2) Duke
Regional Semi-final:
(1) UCLA beats (5) Drake
(3) Xavier beats (10) Arizona
Region Champ:
(1) UCLA beats (3) Xavier
FINAL FOUR GAMES:
(1) Kansas beats (1) North Carolina
(3) Stanford beats (1) UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: (1) Kansas beats (3) Stanford 77-69
So there you go folks. I hate picking the brackets so much. I just got done finalizing and I'm already FREAKING OUT about my pick to have Stanford in the final game. I mean sure, Stanford is a great team and they have as good of a shot of making that title game, but then again, with the way my brackets have panned out recently, they will be beaten in the first round by Cornell.
